# Nothing Is Hidden, Nothing Lost explained — Toilers of the Sea

> Chapter companion for Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

After killing the devilfish, Gilliatt discovers a hidden recess in the cavern containing a human skeleton surrounded by dead crabs. He finds a leather girdle with an iron box containing three thousand-pound banknotes and twenty guineas, along with the name 'Sieur Clubin' inscribed on the girdle.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Sublime and Terrible Ocean

The cavern serves as both a magnificent underwater palace and a grim tomb, highlighting the ocean's duality.

### Deception and Moral Ambiguity

The discovery of Clubin's skeleton and hidden wealth reveals the consequences of his deceitful actions.

## Character check-ins

### Gilliatt

Discovers the skeleton and the hidden treasure after killing the devilfish.

### Captain Clubin

Identified as the owner of the girdle and the deceased man whose skeleton is found.

## Key lines

> It was time that he killed the devilfish. He was almost suffocated.

Gilliatt had just managed to kill the devilfish, barely escaping suffocation.

_Opening line establishes the immediate aftermath of the battle._

> He fancied that he perceived, in the furthest depth of the dusky recess, something smiling.

He thought he saw something grinning in the dark depths of the alcove.

_Gilliatt's hallucination or vision of the skull._

> It was a savage haunt; the devilfish inhabited it; it was also a tomb, in which the body of a man reposed.

The cave was both the devilfish's lair and a grave for a human corpse.

_Reveals the dual nature of the cavern._

> The crabs had devoured the man: the devilfish had devoured the crabs.

The crabs ate the man, and the devilfish ate the crabs.

_Describes the chain of consumption found in the cave._

> Gilliatt deciphered them, and read the words, 'Sieur Clubin.'

Gilliatt made out the name 'Sieur Clubin' written on the leather.

_Final revelation identifying the skeleton's owner._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/iv-nothing-is-hidden-nothing-lost
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters